₦airaland Forum

Donmatlock:
Yes, traditional wear is cool. Just be simple and smart. They aren't really looking at your clothing. Funny enough, 90% of Nigerians I saw inside the interview hall were dressed in formal wears but all the Visa Officers were beautifully dressed in Nigeria traditional attire!

100kobo:
You qualify to book as a Regular if the date of your last interview is earlier than August 10 (representing 2 months after your last interview). Since you have already counted 2 months and 5 days, you will do well to book Regular, pronto.

Kbamby:
Good day my fellow Nairalander. This is my 1st time of posting here, though I bumped on this forum through google in 2015. Then I was preparing my wife to go and give birth in the US. I couldn't get appointment for her before her due date so we forfeited the #32,000 visa fee we paid and saved the #2million we budgeted for the project.
Fast forward to 2018, I paid another Visa fee for myself and book an appointment for July 2018.
On the the day, I got to the US Lagos Embassy by 7:30(my appointment time) but ended up joining the 10am batch. I went through all the necessary procedures and eventually queue for the interview. I usually have this superstitious believe of avoiding women conducting interview for me. So my prayers was to be interviewed by a man. But alas when it was my turn I realised a white lady was going to interview me. I had 4 people in front of me and under 10 minutes she had refused all of them. ( the fastest was the lady before me -less than a minute, she was asked her destination 3 times but no response -though she was responding but she was not audible at all, due to fear). Then I heard Next! I move confidently to her cubicle.
Below is the excerpt:
Me: good morning ma.
Vo: morning... your passport
Me: handed it over
Vo: where are u traveling to in the US?
Me: Florida. Orlando Florida
Vo: why?
Me: for vacation & to check out so and so company( I mentioned 2 top companies in Orlando that do same biz I do in Nigeria) to see if we can do one or two things together
Vo: what do you mean by one or two things?
Me: I explained
....:Vo typing....
Vo: you worked for...(she mentioned my company)
Me: yes. I explain the company has a subsidiary and what each company does.
Vo: so which of the company do you work for?
Me: I owned both companies.
.......Vo continued typing....
Vo: the company u want to visit in Orlando, do u want to buy equipment from them?
Me: yes if I see any one I like.
......vo continue typing.....
Vo: how many staff do u have?
Me: 32 consisting of management staff, supervisors and operatives.
......vo typing......
Vo: are you married?
Me: yes with a son and I'm expecting another baby soon.
Vopicked up my passport from her table and flipped through )
Have you traveled before?
Me: yes to SA, Swaziland and Kenya.
Vo: continue typing for what looks like eternity and me I just rested on the cubicle for support... meanwhile people were just been refused left and right..
She paused and looked left and right...:the blue paper was at the right hand and white at the left hand...and picked the white paper and circle the address to pick up my visa. I wasn't hearing what she was saying cause I was overjoyed in my heart...just pick up the paper and thanked her.

This is my first time and I have always been praying that I should get the visa at my first attempt and God answered.

My advice are:
*One should followed this Nairaland properly, read through and digest.
*be organised and prepared.
*Dress well
*Be confident and polite
*and lastly be honest especially with your occupation.

Thank you.

duduzz:
Yes.

Uzzy785:
Hi. I am going for a masters in health services administration at Tulane University SPHTM. This place is truly a gold mine and I learnt so much here. I got approved on 27th of sept in abj. Just picked up my passport today. I felt I should give back to the community. There is a lot of background story to this interview but for the sake of brevity i will just go straight to my interview. This was my 2nd attempt.

V.O, good morning

Me, good morning

V.O, where are you going to

Me, Tulane university in new orleans for a masters in health services administration otherwise known as health care management

V.O, how did you hear about the school

Me, when i first made up my mind that i wanted a masters, i went to google and searched for top 20 schools of public health in USA, then i bagan checking each school on their official website. Tulane ranked 12th on the US news and world reports and also My supervisor mentioned the school as one at the forefront on research on tropical diseases which is important to Nigeria...V.O, i will stop you right there.

V.O, why now when you do not have enough medical experience

Me, Not at all, I have been a medical doctor for over 3 yrs now (told her all i have done since graduation till now, all the things on my DS160). V.O, I will stop you right there, so why now?

Me, Based on this experience, i have witnessed a lot of heart shattering things such as people not being able to afford drugs, doctors and healthworkers going on strike, people dying of preventable diseases. Most burdersome is how crippled the country is when we have epidemics. We have manpower and appreciable material resources, what we lack is good administration, planning and execution on how to generate an output that covers the health issues of all Nigerians. This is why i am going to the US to gain such transferable skills. I also have plans of owning my own hospital in Nigeria in the next 6yrs and I need this training to be able to run it efficiently and effectively with aims of giving affordable and accessible health care to my people...VO...i will stop you right there.

V.O, who is sponsoring this

Me, My uncle and i mentioned his name

V.O, can i see a statement

Me, yes, here you go

VO, what does he do

Me, told her

V.O, why is he doing this.

Me, he has always been supportive of my academic pursuits and wants me to be an instrument of positive change in the healthsector of this country

V.O looks at me seriously then says...do you agree to take full responsibility of this document if its found to be fake, this will cost you a 10yrs ban

Me, Yes, its authentic.

V.O, Ok, you have been approved...then the famous temporary deafness started....you will need this i20 at the port of entry...
Me, come again...repeats herself. Your passport will be available so so date, Me, pls come again....VO repeats herself....VO, you wont be able to enter the US 30 days before start of school so the earliest date for you to enter the US is so so date...Me, pls come again...VO, repeats herself. Are you clear with all i have said?
Me, yes

V.O, picks up the white paper and hands it over to me, do have a nice day.
Me, and you too.

Few tips that i can give based on my experience.

1st believe in yourself, sounds cliche right but its tested and trusted. My 1st interview, i met the infamous african american woman and honestly it was not pleasant atall. So if you know within you that you did the whole process yourself, had all your documents intact like i did and the only issue was the interview, do try again.

I am single, in my twenties and have not travelled before. So do not let that bother you so much.

Avoid agents pls. Avoid agents pls. They can be soo wicked. Do everything yourself. Come here for information

Pls be confident, its necessary...there was this guy shouting ontop of his voice thinking it was projecting confidence but we listening could hear the anxiety in every syllable what more the V.O. He was denied. Pls practice well before hand.

I have always been confident about my abilities. GPA 3.6/4 (Wes evaluated). GRE total 310. Applied kindda late to 8 schools was admitted into 7. Two gave me partial scholarships. So i was pretty confident. After the 1st denial, i was truly humbled but i am a resilient fellow. I hardly give up. I found God again...lol, sounds funny but its true. I prayed harder than I did before the 1st interview. I had to trust God this time and it worked.

Listen to motivationals, they helped me alot. I went on youtube, saw a lot. I discovered TD Jakes. What a gifted speaker. It will help you get over the few days depression and push you on.

I had to also contact ppl here to help me. Some answered, some didnt and i understand. People are busy with school, work and all but for a shy guy like me who likes to keep my business my business, i dreaded putting up my enquiries so i contacted the ones i noticed gave enlightening responses with a touch of humanity and who were willing to help others. Few answered, most didnt. So go with the ones that replied you.

Pls during the interview, learn to talk,express yourself. Do not be rigid. A lady i observed who was laughing with the consular officer and smiling through out got hers. I had to learn to smile like those beauty pagent models. My first interview was corrupted with the mantra of dont talk if not spoken to, do not answer what you were not asked...so i was a one word answering machine..yes, no...i did not even expatiate on questions and there was this long period when she was just typing on end, i was expecting more questions but none came afterwords because i read here how brief one had to be, anyways the point is pls by all means express yourself fully. When you notice them typing for long, present your case again, talk about the school, ask for opinion on the city you intend to go to school, say your future plans for Nigeria. Dont just keep mute. Let the V.O be the one to say 'stop'

I want to thank Promise, God bless you. Also Ubah, thank you...your candid advice helped.
Lastly to everyone who posted here, thanks. I started from group 9 to this current group. Its long, I am sorry but I hope this helps someone who genuinely wants to better himself or herself positively. Like i said, i am not inclined to put up things here but if you have questions, feel free to reach out and i will try and answer your emails. Pls be patient with me as i am a doctor with really busy hrs. Never, ever give up. God bless you all.

Omoekun931:
Hello everyone. Please, it's important I get my transcript evaluated but I don't know how to go about it. Please I need your help

npmi:
I want to read successful transcripts

Enasdan:
good afternoon everyone, please all the project files in my system is reading "The office open XML thesis one. cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents" please I kindly need your assistance on how can I resolve this urgently, your contribution and suggestion are welcome

ePrive:
What kind of backup did you do initially ? Windows backup ? To what type of drive ?
If it's Windows backup, in the backup drive, check the file history. And when you're retrieving backed up files like say; Documents , don't just select Documents and press restore. Instead, click through the Document folder and highlight the file(s) you want to restore....then restore.

Timotee:
I do not think changing sponsors should be a problem. When I did my first interview and was denied, I had my uncle listed as my sponsor on my DS-160 form and I went to my interview with his statement of account. However, on my second interview 3 months later, I had my dad listed on my DS-160 as he had sufficient funds in his account. I had no problem with my interview when I stated that my dad was sponsoring me and I got the visa. I believe it all depends on how sufficiently well you are able to explain any change on your DS-160 when asked.

OmoBendel24:
You don't need all that for the 2 weeks visa. Get your ticket, go with it and a printout of e-visa to board and be headed for the UAE on the day of your flight....

Luvlibee:
hello, dear thanks for your abt response. I sent my certificates through fax yesterday and I am yet to get a response from them. how long will it take for them to upload it?

biggeorge700:
to GOD be the Glory!
(Lagos Embassy, August 14th, 6:30am)
visa issued the following day.

me: Hello, how are you?
vo; pass me your passport and i20 (i did)
vo; what course are you going to study?
me;Master of Science in Healthcare Management
vo; where?
me; Atlantis University, Miami, Florida
vo; why are you going to study this course?
me; the deplorable condition of the healthcare system in nigeria has left nothing else to desire which explains.. (vo cuts in; i dont need you to tell me that, i need you to tell me what this course will do for you)..ok, the program will instruct me on the theories and practices of the modern healthcare management environment and prepare me to be able to plan, lead, control, organize, and evaluate quality improvement initiatives in our healthcare industry such that when i return, i'll be able to contribute largely to the reshaping and revolutionizing of the outdated and poor business models put into use in our healthcare industry in nigeria thereby improving public health
vo; why did you choose the school?
me; there are lots of reasons but i'll briefly mention about ten (she looked up scared and was like whaaat) no i dont need you to tell me ten, just tell me the top three..ok i wont talk about the various accreditations, approvals and recognitions, now, atlantis university offers me a curriculum where i'll get community experience which will help me to translate the knowledge gained in class to a real life experience and not just that, having learnt, having exposed and familiarized myself with the US healthcare system, i'll be able to contribute to the nigeria healthcare system on my return. also, financial implication, atlantis university is affordable as i'll be paying 6722$ per semester. the school has a central philosophy of small class size which facilitates a beautiful learning experience. Also entrepreneurial approach in their programs, case study analysis and simulations, hands on learning, field experiment experience which is what i analyzed earlier and also, multicultural diversity as the school offers lectures in english and spanish so i believe i'll learn spanish (she raised her head and nodded, and said oh spanish, i repeated, yes, spanish. then she sipped some more coffee i guess and got back to her typing)
vo; did you apply to other schools?
me; yes
vo; name them
me; Parks university, parksville, missouri, Westcliff university, irvine, california, Atlantis university, miami, florida
vo; so why atlantis over the others?
me; atlantis offered me master of science in healthcare management compared to the master of business administration in concentration to healthcare management offered by Westcliff. and master of science in healthcare management is the only business program in the world that can harness the reputation, resources and experience of the healthcare industry.
vo; did you take any standardized test?
me; yes. GRE, 311.5, TOEFL, 104
vo; what are you doing currently
me; i work as a histologist at Chronox laboratory owned by Dr. James Olumide Ashaolu who is the first scientist in the world to use bats for simulated microgravity.
vo; who's sponsoring?
me; my mum
vo; what does she do?
me; she is the principal accounting officer for osun state ministry of finance
vo; do you have her soa?
me; of course (passed it to her)
vo; (looked, calculated, typed, flipped through, then asked) does she have any side business?
me; yes, she owns three event halls (i wanted to explain what event hall is and she said she knows, then she returned the soa to me after she was done with it)
vo; have you ever travelled out of the country?
me; i've never had any reason to
vo; are you single or married?
me; single
vo; any kids?
me; hahaha i'm single, so, no kids
vo; (typed and typed and typed, and i was saying HOLY SPIRIT take over, HOLY SPIRIT take over) your visa is approved
me; sorry?
vo; your visa is approved
me; thank you.
vo; pick up your passport in three working days at isolo and at the port of entry you'll need your i20
me; say that again
vo; (she explained again)
me; ok thank you. (and then i left beaming with smile saying JESUS, I GOT IT! then i left)

now a day prior to my interview, i came across a link posted in part 13 of this forum about what vos wish applicants knew, i held onto two.
1. the more the documents you bring to the interview, the less truthful you occur to them, the less documents you come with, the more original you likely are.
2. vos likes complicated stories THAT MAKES SENSE although the stories might not be completely honest, but as an intending STUDENT, you have to make a whole lot of sense.
Also, all through my interview, the vo never smiled, she didnt even reply my hello how are you which was enough to dampen my courage, but NOPE!
then confidence, it doesnt come from imagining it, it comes from lots and lots of preps and researches and readings. if you are well prepared, your courage will be boosted. days and nights, i read and read, especially on here, then practices after the agent i contracted had prepared me with series of mocks
Now wait for it, GOD! i told my mum, please pray, my dad, my babe, then myself. GOD's role here can't be overstated!
i had been denied once (june 27th) cuz i wasnt well prepared i guess, but then, the agent i contracted said to me, lets do it one more time (not all of them are bad after all).

Petersburg94:
Hello guys (everyone and guru in the house), my friend introduced me to this thread I followed some transcript and I learn some things

I had my interview 6:30am this morning (September 13), after going through the usual checking and stuffs with biometrics​. It was time for interview. I was interview by a woman in window 6 she fresh but doesn't look like she's in her early 20s (that no concern me though)

There's a guy in my front, I heard their conversation it was fine, their interview was 5-7 minutes (wasn't sure but even tey unlike others) but she denied him. I was the next and the second to be interviewed by the woman. There's a guy in Window 7 with headphone with the mic up (maybe e dey listen to music ah no know), he was just denying people going for masters anyhow, his interview​ with each applicant didn't take up to 1 min)

Meanwhile it was late when I discovered the guy that helped me with the stuff did stupid mistake and he didn't ask me, he just put what he liked. I graduated November 2017 but this guy put April and my notification of result indicates November. I called him to give me login details several times but he never did and won't change it, they guy did the stuff just anyhow. So didn't know what to do so I planned if they asked me when I graduated I'll just say 2017

My transcript goes thus:
Me: Good morning, how are you this morning
VO: Good morning (Madam no dey smile)
*scanned my barcode*
VO: Where are you going to in the US?
Me: Stanton University in California
VO: What are you going for?
Me: To further my education in Master of Business Administration and Management
VO: why did you choose this school?
Me: It's one of the best business administration school in California, they only​ have BA for both their Masters and Bachelor's degree so...
*VO cuts in*
Vo: so you mean to tell me you chose the school because they offer the program you want?
Me: No, actually they have an education delivery system of democratic process in which their students comes first and they have a diverse multi ethinics and multi cultural population which is good for business as I'll be able to meet people from...
*VO cuts in* (dunno weytin she dey think that time, she then looked at me)
Me: So you mean you want this school because they are democratic? (she said it with one kind of curiosity funny face or she was annoyed, I wasn't sure)
*For my mind I know I don jonz somehow, is this woman a republican or something, madam ah no dey talk politics na*
Me: No wait, I can explain better
*Vo cuts in*
VO: That doesn't really matters...(don forget weytin she talk after that but it's something like make we free the matter)
VO: When did you graduate?
Me: 2017
VO: What field?
Me: Statistics
Vo: When did you finish your NYSC?
Me: I haven't done NYSC yet because I want to further and by the time I'm done, I'll be coming back to Nigeria for the service and since I'll be taking over my dad's business, he's company would be​ my PPA after 3 weeks camping...
*VO cuts in*
VO: From the date you graduated you should be done with your service by now or still serving...
(I didn't know maybe I should tell her I graduated November, 'cause if it's November it's very feasible 'cause some of my mates are yet to be mobilize by now, so I Sha no talk mama Sha press computer for a while and issue me blue paper e pain me but I just commot Sha)

So I think it's that NYSC thing that turned her off, close to 20 people did before me (people from other queues included) and none was given except one old woman going for visiting, no Masters students was given but that doesn't matter cos I didn't see that could be the reason why I was denied.

I'm thinking of reapplying but I no get interest again for now so I want to defer my admission till another quarter.
My question is; is there​ anything​ wrong with my answer? And when reapplying, can I put the correct date that I graduated which is November 2017 or I should make it April ('cause my notifications of results stated I finished exams (graduated) November 2017 and it was issued March 2018, cos school had issue then so they went on strike that's why it wait till March)

Help me out on this.

Luvlibee:
please how do I get WES fax Number?

Jaybeepictures:
Hmm thanks for the insight, i really want to ask the last question if you don't mind, was your evaluated CGPA higer than the one you evaluated or was vice versa?? thank you.

OmoBendel24:
Thanks for getting back to the house as promised, thumbs up!

Sorry about the refusal dear brother, this one pained me though. This is actually about your ties.... One of the relaxed ways students can get a US B1/B2 visa is to have had a reasonable travel experience, to be studying some professional course, your school too if part of the A-Class Unis in Naija is an advantage especially the ones paying "expensive" fees, etc.

At your level of ties currently and in relation to your kind of application, your parents counts oh. This your application smells "I want to disappear" a lot. I'm genuinely calculating what indicates this young man will come back home from your situation according to your application, I'm not seeing it at my level. Then, how about a VO? Previous travels and a more compelling travel purpose may have helped you. If I were the one asked your purpose of travel, I would have put visiting my uncle in front first before other things not the other way round like you did from your transcript.

Like I said back then, "e hard die for Nigerian university student without traceable 'ajebutter' background and better travel history to get that visa". I even think so stronger than before putting current stricter situations at the embassy into consideration.

I will conclude by asking again, what exactly is strong enough to bring you back to Naija as things are in the country now?

Koyo ovbioba! Obhiaba, egbe fuere.... Abi no be so dem dey talk am for Edo that year? Una people favor me, I pray make e better for you too.... Pele well well!

Jaybeepictures:
please i am still on this wes verification, my school is yet to send the verification back to wes, i want to ask what was your converted cgpa on a scale on 4.0 so that i can have an idea of what mine will be.. i have a cgpa of 2.78 on a scale of 5.0, can you please tell me yours in other to have an idea.. God bless you

Peace505:
Pls is there any Uniben graduate who has gone through WES secondary verification? Will like to know how you went about yours.
I was told at the Uniben registary that WES hasn't sent any mail on my behalf. Mean while I got a mail from Wes on 30/8/2018 telling me they have sent my documents to school for verification. And my wes status says "waiting for your institution ......"

Uwaiwe:
I spent max 2 hours at Cairo airport while waiting for connecting flights.My passport wasn't stamped because there was no need leaving the airport and transit visa wasn't issued. I believe if you are staying longer than 6 hours at the airport, There will be an arrangement. But you need to clarify from Egytpair.

age2richee:
If your lay over is less than 24 hours, it won't be stamped.

age2richee:
If your lay over is less than 24 hours, it won't be stamped.

Uwaiwe:
I used Egytptair couple of times to middle East. They have decent and comfortable seats and there was no delay in getting my checked in luggage. The luggage allowance is two piece 23kg each and their stop over is Cairo. It's nice considering the amount. But if you want to arrive Dubai in less than 8 hours , Emirates is preferable but the max luggage allowance from Dubai is 30kg.

OmoBendel24:
Yeah, I understand that, it means that that date is/was available and can be/could have been taken if an applicant needed and saw it.

"Fully booked for the year" was in quotes for a reason, and ought to have been deducible from it that this isn't a hard and fast conclusion, combine that with "a good monitoring strategy" as written there by me too, what I was saying should have been clearer, if at all you understand me.